Chapter 888

The inner side of Xiao Yinghua's hip bone, located on her lower abdomen, already had a five-petaled cherry blossom brand—its petal edges were clear, the pink stamens slightly unfurled, the color an extremely pale pink, like a newly bloomed cherry blossom that hadn't yet had time to deepen in hue.

"Wow! So pretty!" Asuka's eyes widened instantly, and she suddenly seemed to be showing off, also revealing the pattern on her own lower abdomen: "I have one too! And it's even prettier than yours!"

Asuka's brand was a beautiful silver little flying bird, only slightly larger than a coin, its edges tinged with a faint pink, the center a dark silver like burnished gold.

"Wow, Asuka-chan, you have one too?" Xiao Yinghua had originally been very proud of her uniqueness, but when she saw that Asuka also had a similar brand on her lower abdomen, she instinctively looked toward Mai Xuejie: "That... Mai-sama, could it be you?"

"Duh, this branding technique is what I taught to Muneyuki!" Mai Xuejie naturally and generously displayed her own unique brand. Below the National Goddess's lower abdomen, above the pubic bone, a much larger pattern emerged: a design of thorny vines entwined with snow pines, the thorn tips bearing three flowers—a blooming rose, a half-open bellflower, and a pure white small daisy, each flower made of extremely fine thread-like lines, the thorn edges faintly glowing with a hint of dark gold.

"No wonder it's Mai-sama, it's really beautiful!"

"Mmm, Mai-sama, you're biased—I want such a beautiful pattern too!"

Xiao Yinghua and Asuka both gazed enviously at Mai Xuejie's branded pattern, but the senior student merely flashed it for a breath's time, then said seriously: "Alright, Yinghua, without a doubt we're all our own people. You've been undercover in Public Security for so long, you must have learned something by now—it's time to tell us what your ability is."

Muneyuki Uesugi also looked at Xiao Yinghua, his ability revolving around dead souls and Wisdom Kings, Mai Xuejie's around breaking magic and seals, Asuka's is "Qi Sensing"—so what about Xiao Yinghua?

Xiao Yinghua nodded: "My ability is 'Illusory Protection'."

Xiao Yinghua's inner world ability is actively emitting a faint fragrance that causes nearby humans and inner world beings to develop a strong emotional inclination—wanting to protect her, not wanting to harm her. When affected, they see her as a "harmless, lovable existence" and tend to listen to her gentle, reasonable requests, such as "Could you let me pass?" or "Please don't hurt me?"

Using this ability requires Xiao Yinghua to maintain good grooming; if she's covered in blood or her makeup is messy and she deliberately makes herself ugly, the effect weakens significantly. This ability is not charm—it merely triggers a "paternal or maternal instinct," and if the target inherently lacks such needs—like having no parents—the effect also diminishes greatly.

In other words, it's "immune to attack," "naturally low favorability," "cannot be targeted," and "not seen as hostile."

Yinghua is unaffected by this!

Of course, this ability also has a side effect: Xiao Yinghua herself must maintain a "clear heart," and she cannot harbor strong malice toward affected units. Against beings of pure malice that cannot communicate, or mechanical enemies, it naturally fails. "Very good, Yinghua, this is a strong help for us." Muneyuki Uesugi and Bai Chuan Mai exchanged glances and nodded: "In battle, we already have you covered—you and Asuka just need to play a supportive role. Asuka handles vigilance and reconnaissance, while you conduct investigations in situations where we cannot deploy, even diverting disaster eastward."

"For example... Public Security Police?" Xiao Yinghua, the Public Security Informant, smirked wickedly.

"Hehehe~" Muneyuki Uesugi laughed and nodded.

"By the way, how many brands can one actually have?" Asuka felt her inner world ability was being looked down upon, she pouted, dissatisfied: "Spit it out."

"At most six." Mai Xuejie twirled spaghetti on her fork, casually saying: "No slots left—me, Maho, Eirina, the Big Belly Lewd Teacher, Ashura Rei, and Sakuya-chan—only six, this is also the limit of Junior Student's energy supply."

"What, one water source supplying the whole world?" Muneyuki Uesugi couldn't help but retort: "Anyway, Yinghua is already the last one." "Last one, great!" Xiao Yinghua nodded furiously with ill intent.

If that's the case, what Fuji beauty as the lead actress in a broadcast, what National Goddess Okinawa giantess, what Maho Yamaguchi of Aomori Prefecture—none of them have a chance anymore?

Tear down the bridge after crossing! Block the road after boarding! Pull the ladder after climbing up!

This is the value of being the last one—Yinghua strides forth, a hundred flowers slain!

"Very good, then let's move on to the next matter." Muneyuki Uesugi reached out and rubbed Xiao Yinghua's head.

"The overall nature has already been determined." Muneyuki Uesugi summarized the Aomori Prefecture case in full, his voice not loud but his pace not fast, each word as if carefully weighed: "One hundred forty-one corpses, over two hundred human bone products, the Metropolitan Police Department and National Police Agency have already taken full control. Local forces being purged is just a matter of time, the governor arrested, the speaker fallen, the Fukushi Section Chief has given up a list. The ranch's descendants face death penalty prosecution, the defense lawyer can now only seek reduced sentencing, but with one hundred forty-one lives laid bare, there's no reduction left to give."

He lifted his coffee and took another sip, continuing: "As for the Unification Church side, An Kitano didn't directly cut ties, but his reaction amounted to cutting them. He severed all traceable links with the Aomori Ranch, possibly sending handlers abroad, and in the ledgers, any mention of the church or believers should have been altered or obscured. The National Police Agency's investigation will now be hard to advance, because the church can claim this is believers' personal action, unrelated to the organization."

Bai Chuan Mai looked at him: "Do you think An Kitano has given in?"

"He has." Muneyuki Uesugi set down his cup: "He doesn't want to make a big deal of this right now."

He pulled out his phone from his inner coat pocket, scrolled to a message, and turned the screen toward the three women.

The message was from his brother Sadanori Uesugi—long, but the core was just one sentence: Next year, the Kansai region has a major academic excavation archaeology project involving a relic from Japan's ancient era, with An Kitano as the major sponsor, already having obtained excavation permission.

Muneyuki Uesugi looked at their level of understanding, then continued: "He's prepared for over ten years—next year he'll finally break ground. If we clash head-on with the National Police Agency now, draw their attention, that archaeology project might just go up in smoke. To him, the lives of the disabled aren't worth money, the ranch's loss isn't worth money, but that relic—ah, that's his ten years of heart and soul. He wouldn't destroy his ten-year plan over an already-exposed ranch."

"So he proactively withdrew." Mai Xuejie nodded: "You sure nailed it."

"Yes. He gave in." Muneyuki Uesugi put his phone away, leaned back in his chair, the corner of his mouth slightly lifting: "Don't underestimate my information!"

Bai Chuan Mai looked at that arc of his mouth, her brow slightly furrowing: "You're feeling pleased, Junior Student!"

Muneyuki Uesugi wiped off his smile, looking at her: "I haven't."

"You have." Asuka chimed in from the side, her hot cocoa cup blocking her face, only revealing a pair of crescent-shaped eyes: "I've already seen it! Muneyuki's gotten full of himself!"

"Muneyuki just laughed a moment ago." Sakura Miyawaki also added, her tone serious as if analyzing a case: "I could immediately illusion him! Muneyuki Uesugi looked at the three women and their three pairs of eyes, fell silent for a moment, then admitted:... Well, just a little."

Mai Xuejie sighed, that sigh holding helplessness as well as a clear "I knew it": "Don't get pleased. This time he can yield because he thinks it's not worth fighting. But if next time your interests clash directly with his, he won't yield. He'll go all out—he's a New God!" Muneyuki Uesugi nodded, offering no rebuttal.

"Also." Mai Xuejie lowered her voice, so low only the four of them could hear: "An Kitano isn't an ordinary person. He yielded, but that doesn't mean he surrendered. He just changed battlegrounds. From what you heard from your brother about that archaeology project—what do you think he's after funding it? A cult leader, why spend over ten years and astronomical funds to dig up an ancient tomb?"

Muneyuki Uesugi looked at her, his expression turning serious: "What do you think he wants to get from that tomb?"

"I don't know." Bai Chuan Mai shook her head: "But I know one thing—we inner world beings all end in the High Plain of Heaven, in the void where the Old Gods departed. No matter what An Kitano wants, since he's willing to abandon this Aomori battlefield for it, that shows its priority surpasses the lives of over 140 people and the safety of the entire church."

Muneyuki Uesugi fell silent.

"This is why we need the power of the police and Public Security."

"Miyawaki Sakura." Muneyuki Uesugi turned to Miyawaki Sakura: "How's your side?"

Miyawaki Sakura put down the menu in her hand, sat up straight.

Public Security Informant No. 1, Ehliang Uesugi, ready!

"I've already sent your data and reports to Public Security, Muneyuki." Xiao Yinghua spoke softly: "Detective Kino has confirmed it, and he asked me to tell you: 'Teacher Uesugi's this gift, Public Security has accepted it.'"

"Very good, then continue pushing this matter toward your rear—the 48 Company, toward Akimoto Yasushi and Yoshimoto Kogyo, including drawing Kansai that way." Muneyuki Uesugi nodded: "Don't be too deliberate, but make Public Security aware of their connection—Public Security will investigate on their own."

"I handle criminal affairs here, you mobilize Public Security there, Mai Xuejie you handle unifying religious forces there—this way, if any problem arises, we can all respond immediately and closely monitor the archaeology excavation, and when necessary..." Muneyuki Uesugi thought: "... we'll still have to go ourselves when necessary."

"That would be the decisive battle." Mai Xuejie said softly.

The four people's talk paused for a moment.

The coffee's heat rose in curling spirits in the air, soon dissipating in the warm yellow light. Snow still fell, outside the window nothing could be seen clearly—only a vast expanse of white, as if the whole world had been bleached.

Once the decisive battle comes, the existing tranquility will be broken.

"How peaceful." Asuka suddenly said.

She held her hot cocoa, gazing out the window at the sky-filling white snow, her eyes holding something like a dream, yet like reality, unable to distinguish the boundary—hazy.

Miyawaki Sakura leaned on her shoulder, their two heads of hair rubbing together—one black, one brown, like two threads of different colors entwining. Bai Chuan Mai leaned back in her chair, holding her coffee cup, her gaze falling on the snow curtain outside the window, unknown what she was looking at.

Muneyuki Uesugi looked at these three women, suddenly feeling this moment worth remembering.

In the days of heavy snow sealing the mountain, cut off from the world, breathless under the weight of over 140 lives, this quartet's moment of silence was like a harbor from the wind.

To guard this tranquility, I too must become a striving knight!!

Ah, more of that spirit!

Tatakai, always touching Tatakai!

At the same time, in another interrogation room of the Aomori Prefecture Police Headquarters, Kashiwagi Jin sat opposite the table, with a cup of tea that had gone completely cold in front of him. His fingers tapped slowly and steadily on the tabletop, his gaze always fixed on the woman before him.

Aragaki Yui sat opposite, hands resting on her knees, her waist and back held perfectly straight.

She wore no makeup, dressed in a dark gray cotton sweatshirt and black long pants, her hair tied in a ponytail, revealing her full face.

That face, under the harsh white fluorescent light of the interrogation room, appeared especially plain—no "GAKKISMILE," no actress's glow, just a woman in her thirties who had been questioned all day, weary and helpless, yet still enduring.

"Aragaki-san, I'll ask again." Kashiwagi Jin spoke slowly, as if patiently teaching a student who didn't understand the lesson: "That night in the hotel hallway, when you heard footsteps—could it possibly have been other guests?"

"I've already answered that many times." Aragaki Yui's voice was slightly hoarse, probably from talking too much: "That wasn't the sound of someone walking. It was that kind of heavy, slow sound, like someone dragging their legs as they walked."

Kashiwagi Jin wrote a few notes in his notebook, looked up, and continued: "What is your relationship with Uesugi Chief?"

Aragaki Yui fell silent for a moment: "Work-related. He came to guest-star in *Hand of God*, and I was a guest."

"Just work-related?"

"Just work-related."

"If it's just work-related, why do witnesses and surveillance show you knocking on his door at midnight? Didn't you hear he's the Pervert of the Metropolitan Police?"

…………」Aragaki Yui's face turned ashen, she bit her lip, and spoke softly: "I just went to ask him some questions about the TV drama and local folklore..."

Even she didn't believe what she said.

Sure enough, Kashiwagi Jin showed the expression of "You're trying to fool a ghost."

He smirked, wrote a few more notes in his notebook, put down his pen, and looked at Aragaki Yui: "Final question: Have you ever come into contact with anything or anyone related to the 'paranormal'?"

Aragaki Yui's fingers on her knees tightened slightly.

"I don't understand what you mean." Aragaki Yui said.

"What I mean is this"—Kashiwagi Jin leaned forward, both hands braced on the tabletop, his gaze locking onto Aragaki Yui's eyes—"Can you see things that others cannot?"

"There are no ghosts in this world, but if that's the case, how did you encounter one?" Kashiwagi Jin declared triumphantly: "Let me think—Aragaki-san, you probably just happened to know something, which is why you came all the way to Aomori Prefecture, right? Then you deliberately faked a haunting to force Uesugi Muneyuki to act, and then you posed as a quiet white lotus, didn't you?"

"Otherwise, how do you explain encountering a ghost? What a joke—do you really expect me to believe you actually have some paranormal ability? Don't mess with me! GAKKI-san, scientifically speaking, the Japanese Police's Final Weapon, my good buddy Uesugi Chief is here; magically speaking, another National Goddess, Head of the Kanto Shrine Alliance, Shirakawa-san is here! You think you can compare to them? They said nothing, yet you're the one who ran into trouble? So hurry up and tell me—what exactly is your connection to Aomori Prefecture? What position do you hold at the ranch and local self-governing organizations? What post are you holding? How much bribe did you take?" Kashiwagi Jin slammed the table: "We will never wrong a good person! Nor will we ever let a bad one slip through!" Aragaki Yui despairingly closed her eyes.

Damn, I've run into a brain-damaged, clinging-to-me detective novel-obsessed cop!

And yet, she truly is a person from the Inner World.

Now I really can't explain this at all!

Damn Kashiwagi! What "Star Inspector"—he's nothing but disgusting Mikawa Shared, sniffing around and sticking to me like a smell I can't shake off! I'm going to report you! I'm going to report you!